Scientists Have Successfully Designed A Brain Implant That Fights Off Depression

Azom

People who suffer from depression need help. They constantly find themselves in a dark place, and when they get there, many are unable to fight their way back to the surface.

People who suffer from depression need intervention and understanding. Their minds are unable to control the moods they get into. Hence, it’s sometimes up to science to find the solution.

Scientists and health experts have been studying the brain for years. They truly want to understand how this complex matter works. This is especially vital for those who suffer from depression. Recently, researchers have uncovered method that makes use of deep brain stimulation to ward off depression – and as of right now, they know that it centers around the patient’s mood.

Researchers have probed the brain for years. They have tried to solve problems by using probes and targeting areas with electrical shocks in order to treat clinical depression. It is only recently that their efforts have paid off. It seems as if this has been a successful mode of treatment, even while the earlier studies yielded limited and varying results. Now, a case study made in the University of California San Francisco was published in the journal Nature Medicine. In it, the experts in the research team made use of electrical stimulation that has profound antidepressant effects. They also discovered that the shocks administered should be meticulously tailored to the patient’s specific case. It all depends on the person’s specific moods and the symptoms that go with it.


A volunteer in the study actually shared the experience. The 36-year old woman says that she suffered from severe depression and said after the experience, “I’ve tried literally everything, and for the first few days I was a little worried that this wasn’t going to work. But then when they found the right spot, it was like the Pillsbury Doughboy when he gets poked in the tummy and has that involuntary giggle.”

The volunteer also added, “I hadn’t really laughed at anything for maybe five years, but I suddenly felt a genuine sense of glee and happiness, and the world went from shades of dark gray to just — grinning.”

In the case studied performed in the university, the doctors were able to provide the three important brain regions in which they could zap to help stave off depression. They only found one region that worked effectively when the patient was in a specific mental state. If they do it otherwise, the opposite effect happened. Once the researchers had worked out all the details crucial to the neurostimulation, the patient was able to complete the study after ten days and remained upbeat and happy for six weeks. After that, the patient has now gotten similar stimulation from an implant they had placed on her. The said implant was able to deliver imperceptible shocks once it sensed the need. She now reports that she is finally able to live her life to the fullest and enjoy it for the first time in years. This has made a vast difference to the quality of her life.


Study co-author and UCSF psychiatrist Katherine Scangos said in the press release, “We hope that providing gentle neuromodulation throughout each day will be able to prevent patients from falling into long-lasting depressive episodes.”

While the case study only had one participant, the researchers and the UCSF scientists are using this as a pilot for the upcoming clinical trial they’ll be conducting. This time, they will have more volunteers, each one will have a neurostimulation that will be specifically and personally designed for their specific needs and mental issues.

Senior study author and UCSF psychiatrist Andrew Krystal spoke in a press release and said, “Our trial is going to be groundbreaking in that every person in the study is potentially going to get a different, personalized treatment.” She further explained, “And we will be delivering treatment only when personalized brain signatures of a depressed brain state indicate treatment is needed.”

 

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